A recent analysis of quarterly reports published by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) reveals that foreign customers in Benin, Togo, and Niger collectively owe Nigeria a significant amount of N132.2 billion for electricity bills supplied to them from 2018 up until the first quarter of 2023.

The outstanding debt arises from the N180.8 billion billed to these customers, of which they have only paid N48.57 billion, representing a mere 26.8 percent of the total bill.

Upon examining the breakdown of the figures, it becomes evident that Benin accounts for the highest amount owed, with a bill of N72.1 billion, followed by Niger Republic owing N31.3 billion, and Togo owing N10.03 billion.

Considering the year-on-year analysis, these countries managed to pay a mere N650 million out of the N47.25 billion owed to them in 2018. Shockingly, no payment was made by these debtors in 2019, despite the outstanding bill totaling N40.6 billion.

The payment situation witnessed a slight improvement in 2020, with N10.4 billion paid from an outstanding sum of N19.7 billion. However, in 2022, the debtors managed to pay N32.7 billion out of an outstanding bill of N52.02 billion. Regrettably, in Q3 2021, the debtors paid a mere N4.7 billion from a total bill of N8.76 billion, and in the first quarter of 2023, they failed to make any payment, leaving N12.3 billion of bills unpaid.

Prior to this report, Media Talk Africa had previously highlighted Niger’s separate outstanding debt of over N4.22 billion for electricity supply owed to Nigeria.